Assessing Parent-Infant Bonding in a Community Perinatal Mental Health Service.

Objectives: Perinatal mental health (PMH) services support the mental health needs of women and birthing people in pregnancy and postnatal, alongside the developing relationship between parent and infant. Mental health symptoms in PMH services are routinely screened for, yet there are inconsistencies in whether parent-infant bond is assessed and how. The aim of this study is to assess the predictive validity of screening for parent-infant bonding difficulties (Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ)) and psychopathology (CORE-10) to predict patient outcomes at discharge from a PMH service.